Santa Lucia Highlands
Sub-AVA · Monterey County · District 7
27 CFR 9.139 · established 1992-05-15 · last amended 2021-08-25
Heat class II · 1991-2020 normals
Climate normals in three numbers
, Apr 1 – Oct 31
14 GridMET cells cover this region
season rain, Apr 1 – Oct 31
19 mm of it in the , Sep 1 – Oct 31
Warm and cool vintages since 1980
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Rain across the season, and at harvest
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The boundary
Hovering a shaded region names it; a click opens its page.
Measured vineyard area
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Drought categories, year by year
Monterey County — not Santa Lucia Highlands
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What's in the ground
7.0
pH, 1:1 water
16.5cm
, whole profile
157cm
to
Well drained
, dominant condition
Distribution across 53 · mean ◆, median │, p10–p90 bar
Dominant
- 32.8%
- 17.4%
- 13.2%
- 5.7%
- 5.3%
53 map units · soil described over 99.5% of the region’s area · 1.1% is water, rock outcrop or other non-soil · 30% of the described area has a restrictive layer within the profile.
Sand, silt and clay, against every other appellation
Sandy loam
53% sand · 31% silt · 17% clay
Sandier than 79% of California appellations and clayier than 13%. Each grey point is one appellation’s topsoil; appellations nest, so this is a distribution of places rather than of land.
Plus 11% rock fragments by volume, which the triangle does not describe — the three fractions are of the fine-earth material only.
Elevation, slope and aspect
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Bearing acreage by variety
Monterey County · District 7
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Price per ton
Monterey County · District 7
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The appellation in federal law
The boundary, in the government’s own words (825 words)
(c) Boundaries. The Santa Lucia Highlands viticultural area is located in Monterey County, California. The beginning point is found on the “Chualar, California” U.S.G.S. map, where Limekiln Creek crosses the 360 foot contour interval. This point also coincides with the western boundary of the Guadalupe Y Llanitos de los Correos Land Grant and the eastern boundary of section 28, T. 16S., R. 4E. The boundary is as follows: (1) From the beginning point, the boundary follows Limekiln Creek for approximately 1.2 miles northeast to the 120-foot elevation contour. (2) Then following the 120-foot elevation contour in a general southeasterly direction for approximately 0.9 mile to where it intersects with River Road. (3) Then following River Road in a southeasterly direction for 0.3 mile to its intersection with an unimproved road near the marked 130-foot elevation. (4) Then follow a straight line southeast to the terminus of the 110-foot elevation contour. (5) Then follow a straight line southeast 0.9 mile, crossing onto the Gonzales map, to the Salinas River. (6) Then follow the Salinas River in a south-southeast direction 0.7 mile, crossing onto the Palo Escrito map, to the intersection of the Salinas River and the 120-foot elevation contour. (7) Then follow the 120-foot contour south for 1 mile, then southeast to its intersection with River Road. (8) Then follow River Road east for 0.1 mile to its intersection with an unnamed, light-duty road. (9) Then follow the unnamed road southeast for 0.2 mile to its intersection with the 160-foot elevation contour. (10) Then follow the 160-foot elevation contour southeasterly for approximately 5.9 miles to its intersection with River Road. (11) Then follow River Road southeasterly for approximately 1 mile to the intersection of River, Fort Romie, and Foothill Roads. (12) Then following Foothill Road in a southeasterly direction for approximately 4 miles to the junction of Foothill Road and Paraiso Roads on the Soledad map. (13) Then follow Paraiso Road in a southerly direction, crossing onto the Paraiso Springs map, to its intersection with an unnamed, light-duty road north of Clark Road in Section 20, T18S/R6E. (14) Then follow the unnamed road east-southeast for 0.3 mile to its intersection with an intermittent stream. (15) Then follow the intermittent stream in a southwesterly direction for 0.2 mile to its intersection with the western boundary of Section 21, T18S/R6E. (16) Then follow a straight line south-southwest for 0.3 mile to the intersection of Clark Road and the southern boundary of Section 21, T18S/R6E. (17) Then follow Clark Road west-southwest for 0.2 mile to its intersection with an unnamed, light-duty road. (18) Then in a straight south-southeasterly line for approximately 1.9 miles to the line's intersection with the southeast corner of section 33, T18S, R6E (this line coincides with the unnamed light duty road for about 0.4 miles and then with the eastern boundaries of sections 29, 32 and 33, T18S, R6E, which mark this portion of the western boundary of the historical Arroyo Seco Land Grant). (19) Then straight west along the southern boundaries of sections 33, 32, and 31, T18S, R6E, to the southwest corner of section 31. (20) Then north along the western boundaries of sections 31 and 30, to the northwestern corner of section 30 T. 18S., R. 6E. (21) Then northwest in a straight diagonal line to the northwest corner of section 24, T. 18S., R. 5E on the Sycamore Flat, California U.S.G.S. map. (22) Then north along the western boundary of section 13, T. 18S., R. 5E., to the northwestern corner of section 13, T. 18S., R. 5E. (23) Then northwest in a diagonal line across sections 11 and 3, to the northwest corner of section 3, T. 18S., R. 5E on the Palo Escrito Peak, California U.S.G.S. map. (24) Then due west along the southern boundary of section 33, T. 17S., R. 5E., to the southwestern corner of section 33, T. 17S., R. 5E. (25) Then north along the western boundary of section 33 to the southeast corner of section 29, T. 17S., R. 5E. (26) Then northwest in a diagonal line through sections 29, 19, 13, and 11, to the northwest corner of section 11, T. 17S., R. 4E on the Rana Creek, California U.S.G.S. map. (27) Then north along the western boundary of section 2, T. 17S., R. 4E., to the northwestern corner of section 2, T. 17S., R. 4E. (28) Then west along the southern boundary of section 34, T. 16S., R. 4E., to the southwestern corner of section 34, T. 16S., R. 4E. (29) Then north along the eastern boundary of sections 33 and 28, T. 16S., R. 4E., for approximately 1 mile, to the point where the eastern boundary of section 28 T. 165., R. 4E., coincides with the western boundary of the Guadalupe Y Llanitos de los Correos Land Grant on the Chualar, California U.S.G.S. map. (30) Then northwest along the grant line for approximately 2,500 feet to the point of beginning on Limekiln Creek.